WEST DE PERE (NBC 26) \u2014 West De Pere boys tennis is undefeated in FRCC play and using last year\u2019s heartbreak, when it fell just 0.5 point short of WIAA Team State, as fuel in its pursuit of its first-ever berth.<\/p>\n
After falling just a half-point short of qualifying for WIAA Team State last season, the West De Pere boys tennis team entered 2026 with a new level of belief.<\/p>\n
WATCH THE STORY HERE:<\/p>\n
West De Pere boys tennis chasing first-ever Team State berth after fast FRCC start<\/p>\n
The Phantoms are now unbeaten in Fox River Classic Conference play, ranked seventh in the state and chasing both a conference title and the program\u2019s first-ever Team State berth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat definitely lit a fire for us,\u201d West De Pere Head Coach Bob Hagenow said. \u201cBeing 0.5 point short of going to Team State really opened the door for our kids to think, \u2018Hey, we have a shot to do this in the next couple of years, so let\u2019s get after it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Hagenow said the heartbreak from last season carried into the offseason and helped shape the team\u2019s mindset entering this spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey worked really hard in the offseason and it was great to see their attitude and effort moving forward from that experience last year,\u201d Hagenow said.<\/p>\n
The Phantoms moved from the Bay Conference to the FRCC this season and have quickly adjusted to tougher competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a different vibe,\u201d Hagenow said. \u201cWe also have, top to bottom, a stronger conference overall, so that has really motivated us to lock in for matches and be ready to play against anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Raphael Zifferblatt, the team\u2019s No. 2 singles player and one of four captains, said the close finish last season still drives the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially how close it was last year, losing by 0.5 point to get to Team State, it was huge,\u201d Zifferblatt said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s super motivated to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes the chemistry within the young roster has helped fuel the team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s just friends with everybody,\u201d Zifferblatt said. \u201cThere\u2019s no odd man out. We have fun all the time. We\u2019re team bonding every week.\u201d<\/p>\n
West De Pere has just one senior on the roster, with most of the lineup made up of sophomores and juniors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing to have this young of a team and have this much potential right now,\u201d Hagenow said. \u201cIt\u2019s been fun to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophomore Liam Hankel, the team\u2019s No. 1 singles player, said the group\u2019s bond shows up during matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all really close to each other because of the fact we\u2019re all so close in age,\u201d Hankel said. \u201cIt\u2019s just been nice to be able to develop, stay motivated with each other and cheer each other on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Arya Kadam said the support from teammates has become one of the team\u2019s biggest strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter every match, if you see anyone that\u2019s won, they\u2019re always going and supporting their teammates,\u201d Kadam said. \u201cWe have really good bonds, so I think that really helps us during matches cheering each other on.\u201d<\/p>\n
That culture, Hagenow said, has been years in the making.<\/p>\n
West De Pere\u2019s middle school program includes more than 100 boys and girls in grades 5 through 8, helping build the foundation for the high school team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would not be in the position we are now without our middle school program,\u201d Hagenow said. \u201cThey have helped develop our kids to get to the point where they are now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Alex Schmeisser said the youth program helped prepare players for the high school level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just helped me get a good competitive base, like how I should compete against others and kind of build my skill set,\u201d Schmeisser said.<\/p>\n
Now, with the postseason approaching, the Phantoms believe they are ready to take the next step.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to take a lot of effort and a lot of mindpower to stay in each match and not give up any spots we shouldn\u2019t,\u201d Schmeisser said.<\/p>\n
For Hagenow, the opportunity in front of this group is historic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never been to Team State in the history of West De Pere High School,\u201d Hagenow said. \u201cI think they understand what\u2019s at stake and how badly they want it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST DE PERE (NBC 26) \u2014 West De Pere boys tennis is undefeated in FRCC play and using…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[245108,49,48,245109,42380,245110,245111,82,245112,593,245113,245114,114452],"class_list":["post-663637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-boys-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-frcc","tag-high-school","tag-nbc-26","tag-phantoms","tag-sports","tag-team-state","tag-tennis","tag-west-de-pere","tag-wgba","tag-wiaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}